James Cameron’sAvatarandAvatar: The Last Airbender’s titles have long been a source of confusion for fans. When talking about the latter, fans often shorten it to justAvatar,which causes several misunderstandings across the internet. According to Giancarlo Volpe, who worked on the animated show, that title confusion goes back much longer than fans realize.Cameron released his film,Avatar,in 2009, after more than a decade of working on the film’s production. Meanwhile,Avatar: The Last Airbenderpremiered on Nickelodeon back in 2005. TheAvatar: The Last Airbenderensemble quickly became some ofNickelodeon’s most iconic characters, and the show grew an adult fanbase alongside its target audience. By now, it’s become an animated classic, and its popularity has only grown in the years since its final episode aired in 2008.RELATED:What Will the Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie Be About?According to Volpe, who worked as a director, writer, storyboard artist, and character designer onAvatar: The Last Airbender,the show was originally calledAvatar.This title, however, was vetoed in 2004 because James Cameron had the rights to a little movie calledAvatar.As a result, the show picked up its subtitle and became known asAvatar: The Last Airbender.
Volpe joked about theAvatarsequel’s title,Avatar: The Way of Water. The title evokes one of the central themes inAvatar: The Last Airbender: the four classical elements. In the series, characters known as “benders” can control one of the four classical elements, with Waterbenders being able to control water. Volpe then joked that Cameron might call his next film"The Firebending Masters," an episode title from book 3 of the animated series.
Funnily enough, Cameron’sAvatarhad just been released whenAvatar: The Last Airbender’s sequel,The Legend of Korra,came out in 2009. That series was announced asAvatar: The Legend of Korrabefore being retitledThe Last Airbender: The Legend of Korraand finally coming out under the titleThe Legend of Korra.Presumably, this was because the otherAvatarhad been at the center of popular culture at the time.
It remains to be seen if theAvatarfilm series will affectAvatar: The Last Airbender’s upcoming animated film, which is hitting theaters on June 08, 2025. Meanwhile,Avatar 3is expected to be released in 2024, andAvatar 4is rumored to be released in 2026. It looks like the two franchises just can’t escape their interwoven fates.
Avatar: The Way of Waterwill be released in theaters on Jun 23, 2025.
